I Just Want to Love You
by SnowQueenOfMyHeart
Summary: Elsa is acting very differently, and Anna wants to know why. Sisterly fluff. Expect to be hit by the feels train.


**A/N: This is a one-shot I just wrote and put on Tumblr for the sake of having some Frozen fluff. Too much angst lately. So I'm sharing it here. Please enjoy!**

* * *

Anna thought she knew her sister.

Well, it's not like she fully knew Elsa after having reunited with her only a few weeks ago. Thirteen years apart was a long time, and it would take more than a few impromptu hugs after the Great Thaw or ice-skating sessions to relearn what her sister was like.

One thing she had come to accept was that Elsa was not a touchy-feely person. She had assumed as much during the separation because Elsa avoided contact with anyone. Now, Anna knew it was because of her efforts to avoid hurting anyone with her growing powers. But even with the Thaw, Elsa was still reluctant at times to initiate physical contact with her own sister.

Anna was the opposite. She had no problem with barreling in to Elsa's room - or her study, or the dining room, or anywhere - and smothering her big sister in a bear hug. Of course, she did have enough sense to not do that every single time she found Elsa because it could come as quite a shock. Yet Anna continued to show Elsa how much she loved her with as much physical affection as possible. That included holding her hand when walking together, resting her head on Elsa's shoulder, or draping herself across Elsa's lap when the latter was sitting on the couch. Anna was desperate to show sisterly affection after having been starved of it for so long. And she assumed Elsa generally refrained from displaying her affection as openly. Anna did not mind; she just accepted that Elsa was different, and that was okay.

Until one day…

* * *

Anna woke up, her hair a disheveled mess as usual. As she sat up, yawned, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, she thought she heard someone giggling. The weirdest thing was, it sounded familiar…

Looking up, she saw Elsa standing by her door, beaming at her little sister's appearance. Anna found herself more awake as she took in the sight of her elder sister gazing at her, but there was something different. She was giggling, but with no hand hiding her mouth. It was as if her queen mode was switched off. And the look in her eyes was a lot…warmer.

Then things got even stranger when Elsa quickly made her way across the room, sat down on the bed and brought Anna in for a big hug. Anna couldn't believe what was happening: her normally regal, composed sister was initiating a warm hug. Once she recovered from her initial shock, she wrapped her arms around Elsa's waist and reciprocated the hug.

"Good morning, Sunshine. I love you."

Anna's heart flipped at the sound of Elsa cooing softly in her ear. Then her heart skipped a beat or two at what happened next. Elsa leaned back, took Anna's face in her hands, and began kissing her forehead, then her cheeks, and finally her nose. Once she finished, Elsa gazed into Anna's eyes with the same look of affection she had beside the door. Even weirder, she was smiling so much Anna began to wonder if this was a dream. But before she could ask, Elsa got up and left the room, leaving Anna to put together what just happened.

Later that day, when Anna was heading up to Elsa's study to inquire about going into town for lunch, she almost ran into her sister as the latter was coming out of said study.

"There you are. I was just coming to find you. How about we get lunch in town?" Elsa asked, smiling broadly.

Anna had opened her mouth to speak, but it was as if Elsa had taken the words right out of it. Instead, she settled for, "Absolutely!"

Without any hesitation, Elsa took her hand and started walking out to the main entrance of the castle. Anna was really surprised that Elsa was taking the lead for once; it was usually the younger one who would take her sister by the hand and start walking somewhere. As they made their way into the courtyard, Anna noticed something that made her think back to this morning.

 _She can't stop smiling. How strange._

Not to say that Elsa smiling was a bad thing. It was a wonderful change of pace. Anna knew better than anyone that Elsa was at times an emotional train wreck, full of anxiety and prone to berating herself over the smallest things. When she did smile, it sometimes felt a bit restrained, like she had to convince herself it was okay to be happy. That bothered Anna. Elsa deserved all the happiness in the world; she was worth it.

And yet, she could not shake the feeling that her sister's behavior was peculiar. Anna racked her brain trying to figure out what could have possibly put her sister in such a good mood. She couldn't recall any major parties or celebrations coming up, and Elsa usually was not nearly the fan of parties like Anna was. Elsa definitely was not dating anyone - and probably never would from what Anna had gathered thus far. It couldn't be that she was just feeling happy, was it?

She had to find out.

* * *

That evening, after she had changed into a nightgown, Anna went searching for Elsa to get some answers. Elsa had surprised Anna a few more times that day with hugs and kisses that seemed to come out of nowhere. Naturally, Anna enjoyed the attention. But it still felt…different, somehow…

She found her sister reclining on the couch in the library, in her own nightgown and curled up with a book. As soon as she entered the room, Elsa looked up and beamed. The queen put her book down, rose from her spot on the couch, and approached her sister with outstretched arms.

"Okay, wait a moment."

Elsa stopped, arms still spread out. Her smile faltered a bit as she processed her sister's simple statement.

"What's going on here?" Anna asked.

"What do you mean?" Elsa replied, her brow starting to furrow though her smile remained.

"You've been acting…" Anna paused, hoping to find the right word and not scare Elsa away. "Differently today. And I can't figure out why."

Slowly, Elsa lowered her arms. Her smile had vanished and was replaced with a more common look: a scared and uncertain young woman.

Anna knew she had to act fast before Elsa's emotions got the better of her. "Hey, it's not like I have a problem with it! Seriously, it's nice to get this much attention. You know I'm needy and stuff, and I get that you don't really do the whole shower-your-sister-with-constant-affection thing, but that's okay! It's just, you know, you always act so prim and proper and you don't go hugging everyone, so I thought it was kinda strange that, well, you were doing that a lot more today. It's…unprompted, and that's not really you. So I just…um…I wondered…"

She stopped rambling to take in Elsa's reaction. There was no ice anywhere, so she took that as a good sign. Her face, on the other hand, was rather inscrutable. Elsa was not smiling, but she didn't necessarily look unhappy.

 _Maybe she's trying to figure it out, too?_ Anna thought to herself as she waited.

After several more moments of silence, she decided to try a different strategy.

"Are you excited because of some upcoming holiday that I don't know about?"

Elsa seemed surprised at the random question, but answered, "No."

"Are you happy that autumn is approaching?"

"No."

"Did you have a really productive day and you're still feeling good about it?"

A chuckle, and then, "No."

Anna took a deep breath and asked, "Did you have a nightmare last night?"

"…No."

Well, now she was stumped.

"So…why have you been so…uh…cuddly today?"

For a moment, she thought she had said just the wrong thing because Elsa looked down and turned away. Anna reached out and took a tentative step forward, fearing the worst. _Please don't shut me out. Please. Please…_

And then, she heard three softly spoken words: "I love you."

Unlike the other times before, Anna's heart did not automatically explode with joy at hearing her sister say those words. She knew Elsa loved her, but that did not explain why she had acted so differently today. Why did she hug without hesitation? Why did she smile as if she did not have a care in the world?

"But Elsa, you're showing it more freely," Anna said cautiously. "Why?"

Elsa thought long and hard, desperate to find the right thing to say.

 _I missed you. I'm trying to make up for thirteen years' worth of pain and heartbreak. Because I'm still afraid you think I'm the worst sister in the world. Because I don't want to lose you again. Because I'm scared you hate me. Because I want to know what it's like to love someone and not have to hide or wear gloves or be afraid._

Instead, she settled on one simple phrase.

She turned around, and with tears brimming in her eyes, she stretched out her arms again and said:

"I just want to love you."

And with that, Anna's concerns vanished as her senses were overwhelmed by the simple yet powerful statement, one that conveyed thirteen years' worth of unspoken feelings. _Elsa wants to show affection. She wants to love me. To be loved._

With a half-sob/half-squeal, she ran and tackled her sister into the couch, giving her the biggest hug she had ever given in her life. The tears really started flowing when she felt Elsa embrace her just as tightly, squeezing Anna as if she was trying to convey every ounce of love she felt for her dear little sister into one hug. Before she could burrow into the warmth of her sister's strong arms, Anna tilted her head back to kiss Elsa's soft jawline, and in return she received a tender kiss from the elder on her forehead. Then she buried her face into the pale neck and inhaled deeply. She savored the scent, that of her beloved sister. She grinned when she felt a familiar nose being pressed into her hair as Elsa was breathing in Anna's distinct scent.

Anna pressed her body closer, which was hard to do as they were lying chest-to-chest, hip-to-hip on the couch and seemed to be squeezing the air out of each other. But Elsa was happy to oblige, and she squeezed her little sister again. This time, Anna knew Elsa was trying to impart as much of her seemingly infinite, amazing, incredible love for her sister as possible. As she gently rocked with Elsa's rising and falling chest, savoring the close proximity of their bodies, Anna felt something she hadn't felt in such a long time.

Safe and warm. And loved.


End file.
